Urban Encounter

Posted on Monday, November 26, 2012 at 6:07PM

Choreographer Monica Proenca talks about working with the young artists of LINES Ballet…

This fall, performer and choreographer Monica Proenca settled in with the students of the Training Program, as teacher, mentor, and guest choreographer. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Monica now calls Vancouver home, where she co-directs Lamondance with her unique passion and Brazilian flair. Monica is the most recent LINES Ballet Artist in Residence, a program made possible thanks to a generous grant from the BNP Paribas Foundation.

Of her experience creating a piece on the young artists of the Training Program, Monica says “This group of talented young emerging dancers blew me away with their hunger to become more than just well rounded technicians, but to become artists. The type of training they receive, together with the creation process they are exposed to, make them a unique group to work with. As a creator, my goal is always to bring out the best in the artists I work with. In this piece, and in this group, I felt they brought out the best in me!”

The Training Program performs Monica Proenca’s piece, Urban Encounter, this Friday and Saturday, Nov 30 & Dec 1, at Z Space in San Francisco. Thinking on the piece, Monica asks the questions, "How has life become so that we lock our selves into our own square? How tight are we that nothing can take us out of it?” Then adds, “But in the mist of loneliness and search, there are magical encounters, so strong they last a life time. Urban life makes us busy again and forget what is important. Just to go back to our own routine life... would that be enough for someone to break out of it?"

The following photos capture the students rehearsing Urban Encounter in studio 1 with Monica Proenca.